Another impressive season for Raider teams
By: Rudy Brandl
When every team is winning, there never seems to be enough space to cover everything in the sports pages. That’s the type of season it was at Hillsborough High this spring.
All nine varsity teams posted winning records and competed in NJSIAA events. Six HHS teams were ranked in the state’s top 20 at some point during the season. Four Raider teams won Somerset County championships and three captured Delaware East Division titles. Two others reached county finals and one made it to the sectional title game.
To say Hillsborough dominated the scholastic sports scene is a huge understatement. The nine HHS varsity teams posted a combined record of 120-43. Every program that competed in more than 10 games reached double figures in victories. The two track and field teams finished unbeaten in dual meets.
Every week, the Raiders were winning something significant.
Hillsborough’s dominance wasn’t confined to teams. Individual athletes made their share of headlines at the county and conference level. We had individual sectional champs in golf and track and field.
The season included its share of tough times with horrible April weather causing severe flooding and damage and the terror threats in May closing school twice. Despite all these distractions, the HHS athletes persevered and produced another memorable season.
School’s out for the summer and the calendar says it’s summer, so let’s move on with my Hillsborough High Spring Sports Awards:
Best Team Girls’ track and field. The "Decade of Brilliance" continued with another undefeated regular season, the program’s 10th in a row. The HHS girls also swept the Skyland Conference and Somerset County relay and individual championship meet titles and finished a close third in the team standings at a loaded Central Jersey Group 4 meet. Rich Refi’s young ladies showed character in pulling out a few tight meets with clutch performances. They were led by the fabulous foursome of seniors Taryn O’Connor, Melissa Arango and Ebony Jones and super sophomore Ebony Young.
Best Athlete Taryn O’Connor, track and field. The HHS senior continued her dominance in the weight events, setting new outdoor standards for herself and the school. O’Connor saved her best outdoor shot put mark for the Meet of Champions, where she finished second (46-0½) in the state. Two weeks later, she captured a national medal to earn All-America honors. O’Connor ruled the shot put and discus at the county and conference level and won the CJ 4 title in the shot. She graduated with the school records in the shot put and discus.
Best Coach Todd Sudol, boys’ volleyball. Under Sudol’s guidance, the Raiders have gone from a 4-16 team in 2005 to a 16-4 club this spring. This third-year varsity team qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in school history and defeated Cherry Hill East in the first round. The HHS boys also finished ranked in the state’s top 20. This award could have gone to a number of coaches, but Sudol completed a solid trifecta of three impressive seasons within the same school year with some of his finest work.
Honorable mention to rookie boys’ lacrosse coach Mark Wilson, whose team finished strong and was one of the state’s most dangerous units at the end of the year. Wilson, a former Raider player, returned to his alma mater and started the rebuilding process with an 11-9 season.
Most Improved Athletes Mark Andrews (baseball), Sara DiClemente (girls’ lacrosse).
Andrews made a remarkable recovery from an injury to his left pitching arm to lead the Raiders with an 8-1 record on the mound this spring. The senior southpaw used guts and smarts to baffle opposing hitters.
DiClemente emerged as a consistent two-way threat on the lacrosse field. Her role as the team’s center expanded into a combination of scorer, playmaker and defender.
Most Exciting Moments Taryn O’Connor took the lead with two throws remaining in a thrilling Meet of Champions shot put competition, then wound up finishing second to rival DeAnne Hahn for the silver medal, her fifth state medal in the last three years; softball center fielder Caitlyn Katzelnick fired a strike to catcher Margaret Gilroy to cut down the tying run in the sixth inning of a dramatic county semifinal victory over Montgomery at North Branch Park; senior Brandon Lane unleashed a monster leap of 45 feet in the triple jump at the State Group 4 Championships to join teammates Tyler Szwarc and Mark Ksiezopolski at the Meet of Champs; Ebony Young anchored the 4×400 relay team to a meet-clinching victory at the Somerset County Relays a week after she and teammate Melissa Arango came up with clutch performances in the triple jump to produce the team title at the Skyland Conference Relays; the girls’ lacrosse team effectively milked the clock for the final five minutes to preserve a very satisfying Somerset County championship victory over Bridgewater-Raritan; the golf team repeated as Somerset County team champions with seniors Andrew Borsuk (75), Logan Cecchine (77), Nick Grappone (78) and Ed Zielonka (80) doing the damage; the tennis team avenged prior losses to Ridge and Montgomery with victories in the rematches; and there’s no better way to end a baseball season than with a victory over Immaculata.
Best Game Performances Katie Marino dominated the Somerset County girls’ lacrosse final with six goals and received MVP honors after leading the Raiders to a 12-11 victory; teammate Sara DiClemente ignited the Raiders into the final with a seven-goal outburst in a 14-12 overtime victory over Ridge in the semis; Corey Swickle pitched a complete game three-hitter to win a state playoff game over North Brunswick less than 24 hours after throwing 54 pitches in relief in the county final; Anthony Giralo went 4-for-5 with a monster home run to lead the baseball team to a 13-11 victory over Immaculata; Corey Towey’s clutch two-out base hit propelled the Raiders to a 2-1 victory over Hunterdon Central; Logan Cecchine fired a great golf round of 72 to capture the Group 4 individual title; freshman Ryan Hengerer shot season-low rounds of 34 twice to help the Raiders beat Bridgewater-Raritan and Franklin to win the division crown; softball pitcher Megan McInaw fired a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory at Warren Hills; McInaw drilled a two-run homer to support her own fine pitching in 2-1 victories over Mount St. Mary’s Academy and Immaculata; Tara Van Doren homered twice and Courtney Fedor drove in the game-winning run in the 7-6 softball victory over Phillipsburg that clinched a state playoff berth; tennis stars John Wu and Chris Plaskon advanced to the third round of the NJSIAA singles tournament; Ryan Kloss scored five goals to lead the boys’ lacrosse team to an impressive 15-3 romp over Lenape in the first round of the state playoffs; seniors Chris Livelli (4 goals) and Jake Wilk (7 assists) came up huge for the HHS boys in the 15-10 victory over St. Joe’s that clinched a trip to the state tournament; Taryn O’Connor set meet records in winning the shot put and discus to lead the HHS girls to a 10-point win over Ridge at the county meet; teammates Ebony Young and Melissa Arango also captured two gold medals in the county triumph; pole vaulter Mark Ksiezopolski cleared 13-6 for the first time in a meet to win the county title; and volleyball setter Jared Himelfarb posted 28 assists to lead the Raiders to a three-set win over West Windsor Plainsboro North, a match that ended with a 29-27 game.
Best Games There were many thrillers played at various venues this spring. The best, and most heartbreaking for Raider fans, had to be the Somerset County baseball final vs. Immaculata at Commerce Bank Park. The Raiders led six times but couldn’t finish the Spartans, who rallied for a 12-11 victory in a game that lasted 10 innings and took more than four hours to complete. My other favorites include the softball team’s 6-5 upset over Montgomery in a classic county semifinal and the girls’ lacrosse team’s 12-11 victory over Bridgewater-Raritan in the county final. Let’s not forget the volleyball team’s tremendous 25-22, 25-23 triumph over Bridgewater-Raritan. Other heartbreakers include the softball team’s 1-0 loss to Immaculata on a squeeze play in the bottom of the seventh inning of the county final, the tennis team’s 3-2 defeat at East Brunswick in the CJ 4 semifinals and the girls’ lacrosse team’s 7-6 setback vs. Montclair in the sectional semifinals.
Freshman Phenoms Tennis player Steven Wu, softball catcher Margaret Gilroy, golfer Ryan Hengerer and track and field athletes Ashley Smolinka and Kelly Weber.
Sophomore Sensations Lacrosse players Kyle Panaccione, Ryan Buerkle, Kelsey Palmer, Dorian Gilmartin-Dzitko, Katie DeLuca, Tina Marino, Nicolette Minutillo and Alexa Jarvis, baseball slugger Mike Hansford, softball catcher Melissa Weinstein, track and field athletes Ebony Young, Carlin Dunne, Ali Moran, Robyn Paterno, Brittany Bennett, Jason Walton and Chris Tillotson, tennis doubles player Tim Le, golfer Zach Schiffman and volleyball setter Jared Himelfarb.
Junior Jewels Softball players Megan McInaw, Katelyn Derewecki, Caitlyn Katzelnick and Tara Van Doren, track and field athletes Alex Brown, Mark Ksiezopolski, Robert Marley, Rocco Mazzagatti, Alex Szela, Angela Davia, Beth Davin, Jaclyn Marangella, Stephanie Ogrodnik and Anna Spaniol, lacrosse players Sara DiClemente, Lindsey Watts, Luke Dawson and Justin Kozik, volleyball players Kyle Downey, Chris Fedroff and Joe Caratozzolo, baseball players Ricky Schwalje and Sean MacDonald and tennis players Stefan Apostolos and Sam Klein.
Senior Stars Golfers Logan Cecchine, Andrew Borsuk, Nick Grappone, Ed Zielonka and Craig Durrant, baseball players Corey Swickle, Mark Andrews, Matt Sadin, Matt Zygmund, Corey Towey, Anthony Giralo and Albert DeSanto, track and field athletes Taryn O’Connor, Melissa Arango, Ebony Jones, Ali Hydzik, Ali Leifer, Kelsey Kutch, Warner Jones, Brandon Lane, Tyler Szwarc, Dan Millemann, Dan Reiss and Dave Eilbacher, lacrosse players Jake Wilk, Ryan Kloss, Chris Livelli, Kyle Golombos, Adam Mehltretter, Pat Mahlstedt, Katie Marino, Nikki Smartt, Lisa Cannellos and Lauren Griggs, tennis players Chris Plaskon, Ross Friedman and Tom Gross and softball players Courtney Fedor, Katie Yard and Lauren Singer.